BOTANIU PHYSICIAN. : 
requent i li i contract he flexér 
_ frequent ¢ f distorted limbs, is the contraction of t 
misrelés of aa incall fore-arm, which are ofien produced by an in- 
‘flamed state of the knee and elbow, and particularly in white swelling. 
As the limb lies in greatest ease while the muscles are relaxed, the 
ce eae keeps it always bent ; and when this 1s long conti- 
nail aan tly scssitiintien in such a contracted state of 
the flexor tendons, as to keep the limb bent. A clump foot ae 
frequently produced by the contraction of the tendon in the hollow 
Lee majority of physicians, it has been supposed, that little 
advantage is to be derived from any remedies for distorted limbs; & 
and they have therefore seldom made any uttempt to cure pe 
_ This opinion could not have arisen from the absoiute incurability . 
the disease, but merely from ignorance of the One ae se 
i hysician,) many who might have eel 
thus, (no iment to-xuch selon x SOE a ean ob ial 
belief thatthey were incurable. 
aa alimb is distorted from a stiff and contracted state of the 
muscles and tendons, a free use of emollient and relaxing oils, and 
-ointments, with moderate gradual extension, is a remedy which fre 
-quently succeeds, and can never do harm: To give them their full 
effect, the emollients should be used very freely. All te contracted _ 
muscles and tendons should be rubbed with them wari, for at least 
half an hour, three times a day, and the limb should be kept con* 
stantly wrapped in flannel wet with the unction. While the fric- 
tions are applying, the limb should be slowly, though firmly extend- 
ved, as much as the patient can bear; and the limb afterwards kept © 
as much as possible from contracting. It is necessary, however, to 
remark, that this extension should not be made quickly : by domg — 
so, if the joint happen to be stiff, which is sometimes the case, we 
may cause inflammation and pain, by over-stretching it:.There- 
fore, the extension should be made in a gradual manner, and-without 
much force. ; 
. The oils most useful for the above purpose, are bear’s oil, rattles 
snake’s oil, neat’s-foot oil, goose, hen’s and duck’s oil, é&&c. and 
the compositions of Sweet’s ointment, and others, 
bet 3 a 
.) AMPUTATION. 
_By.amputation is meant the cutting off the whole or part of a limb. 
The mutilation produced by the Operation renders it one of the — 
most dreadful in the practice of surgery ; yet, it sometimes becomes : 
necessary, as the only means ofsaving life. It is an operation, how> — 
ever, So repugmant to humanity, so distressful to the unfortunate 
‘sufferer, and in some circumstances so fraught with danger, that 
nothing but a clear conviction of this necessity can warrant our pro 
posing itm any case. ’ 3S mts, 
The operation itself is not difficult ; every practitioner accustom 
ed to handle instruments may perform it: “But to distinguish with 
precision the cases which require it from those which might do well 
_ under a healing treatment, and to determine the particular period 
